As someone who spends an inordinate amount of time browsing in bookstores, I find it hard to pass a table of recently published works without seeing a sign screaming: “Award Winner!” or a stack of books with giant foil seals on their front covers, all denoting that someone, somewhere, has judged these particular books to have special literary merit. There are dozens of different book awards—who hands them out, and what do they mean? Do they signify excellence in grammar? The year’s best vampire story? The best fiction that’s not a sequel or a novelization of a hit film?
I kid, really I do. While a few “awards” are little more than marketing gimmicks, many of these designations are actually very prestigious honors, awarded thoughtfully to outstanding works of literature. Looking at the list of some of the works that have earned these designations makes it clear that they’re in some good company.
National Book Awards
Begun in 1950 by a committee of publishers, editors, critics, and writers, the National Book Awards are intended to celebrate and elevate American literature—works by American authors, usually dealing with American life. Although the categories and criteria have changed over the years, there are currently four awards given out each year: for fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and young-adult literature. Book publishers nominate works written in the past year, and the books are judged by committees of five writers (often nominated by past winners) who have published works in the same category.
Past winners:
- Sophie’s Choice, by William Styron
- The Right Stuff, by Tom Wolfe
- Ramona and Her Mother, by Beverly Cleary
National Book Critics Circle Awards
The NBCC, an organization of book critics working for publications within the United States, selects titles to be nominated for awards in the following categories: autobiography, biography, criticism, fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Books by any author are eligible, as long as they are published within the United States. The awards began in 1975 and are given out annually in New York City.
Past winners:
- All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
- Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison
- Ragtime, by E.L. Doctorow
